Captain Edward John Smith is an extraordinary person whose name is forever inscribed in history in connection with his involvement in the largest disaster on the water.
Childhood and family
Edward John Smith, whose biography begins with the birth of the twenty-seventh of January one thousand eight hundred and fifty, is very famous.
The boy appeared in the family of Edward Smith and Catherine Hancock (Marsh) in the small town of Hanley, in Staffordshire, UK.
John Edward was the son of a potter. The father instilled a love for his work, but his son was interested in travel, the sea, distant lands. The boy’s mother was a good banker, but subsequently preferred to open her own grocery store.
Carier start
At the age of twelve, the captain of the Titanic Edward John Smith lost his father, who died of tuberculosis. The boy had to leave school and get a job at a factory in Stoke-on-Trent, where a young but very stubborn worker was entrusted with the management of a steam hammer. But this work did not bring the young man the desired pleasure. He dreamed of the sea and travels.
At seventeen, fate brought him to Liverpool, where he forever connected his life with ships and the sea.
After two years of training, John Edward was able to find his first job on the Senator Weber sailing ship, in a company that specialized in the transport of goods. The stubborn young man did not disdain any work. He quickly moved up the career ladder and four years later he received the right to hold the position of assistant captain.
In the nineteen eighty-seventy-six, the twenty-six-year-old John Edward headed his first ship, the Lizzie Fennell. Over the next three years, he covered hundreds of thousands of nautical miles, transporting cargo between the United States of America, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Big changes
In the year 1880, the captain's old dream came true - he was able to join the ranks of the largest and most powerful shipping company of the time - White Star Line.
The catch was that the corporation almost did not serve the transportation of goods. The main focus of the company was the movement of passengers.
Due to the fact that passenger and cargo ships are manageable, an already held captain had to start his career anew from the bottom.
Thanks to his industriousness and perseverance, seven years later he again stood at the helm on the main bridge.
In subsequent years, John Edward managed such vessels as Ripablik, Baltic, Koptic, Adriatic, Germanic, Runic and others.
In one thousand eight hundred and ninety-two, the captain was entrusted with the management of the largest steamer of the company - Majestic. Since that time, Edward Smith could only be found on huge ships.
The public, using the services of liners of this class, was more than wealthy. John Edward was nicknamed: "captain of millionaires."
Military service
The situation in the world was heating up. In the year eighteen eighty-eighth, the captain was recorded in the reserve of the naval forces of Great Britain.
He did not take part in active hostilities. However, Edward had to make several flights to transport troops to the shores of South Africa, where the Boer War took place.
In the nineteen-fourth year, the captain was awarded the officer military rank of Commodore.
Family life
One thousand eight hundred and eighty-seventh year was marked for John Edward not only success in the field of work. On July 12, he married Sara Elyanor Pennington. Already on the second of April of the following year, their young family was celebrating a replenishment - they had a daughter who was named Helen.
The captain's family life was spent in a large, spacious red brick house in a suburb of Southampton.
Last flight
On April 10, one thousand nine hundred and twelve, the most ambitious project of the beginning of the twentieth century launched from the port of Southamptor, striking in its scale even after a hundred years - an ultramodern airliner, which was called the Titanic. The ship was built over three years at a shipyard in the city of Belfast.
The displacement of the Titanic was 52,310 tons, speed up to twenty-three knots, it was characterized by a steel hull, a power plant with a capacity of fifty-five thousand horsepower, one thousand three hundred and seventeen passengers on board. And this famous colossus was appointed to control this colossus.
"Edward John Smith! He will lead the Titanic! ”, - approximately such were the newspaper headlines of English newspapers devoted to the legendary ship.
The liner was considered unsinkable. The development engineers were sure that the compartments they constructed with impermeable bulkheads would help the ship withstand any element.
For John Smith, this was supposed to be the last flight of his career, after which he had to go on a well-deserved retirement.
Catastrophe
According to the official version, on the night of the fourteenth to the fifteenth of April one thousand nine hundred and twelve, the liner collided with an iceberg and received critical holes. The ship began to sink quickly and within three hours it finally went to the bottom.
The exact number of dead was established - one thousand four hundred and ninety-six people. The survivors - seven hundred and twelve.
The last minutes of the captain
The most basic version is that the officer shot himself. The testimonies of the surviving team members diverge. Some say they saw John Smith on the captain’s bridge for the last time. Others are sure that he was among other people in the water. Someone even tried to help the captain get into the boat, but these attempts were unsuccessful.
John Smith's body was never found. His soul forever remained with the ocean.
Captain's family after the disaster
Wife Sarah lived another nineteen years after the death of her husband. In 1931, she died in a car accident in London, where she later moved.
Helen's daughter lived an active and interesting life - she was an entrepreneur, a racing car pilot.
The girl followed with interest all the news related to the Titanic. It is noted that she repeatedly visited the set and very carefully looked at the actor who played her father.